Mastodawn

#wordweavers 2026-01-25. If traumatic events happen, do your characters process it on page for longer than a chapter?

I don't write 'character gets assaulted by end of one book & is fine at the start of the next because of some ABO magic of the alpha's pack' bullshit. (If you get the reference then you know what book I stopped reading that series at.)

The Cantata of the Wild Soul is 11k+ words, and 10k of that is Parthia bouncing hard between holding together, burning fury, mania, and absolute emotional wreck

Current WIP, Medb has lingering problems from the murder of her daughters 700+ years ago. She's walking around partially numb from the trauma of her entire universe getting wiped out and no way to properly mourn in the way her people do. She ain't going to get much traction resolving that until the sequel .

#SanguineDreans #riders_of_the_dream #RidersOfTheDream #werewolves #werewolf #TCotWS

Aware-wolf Jan 24

#WritersCoffeeClub - 2026-01-23
There’s satisfaction in crafting a good sentence. What satisfies your writer's ear?

Several things

Stark imagery;

The crest of the wave broke in shades of silver and white under the darkened sky as it curled like the unruly beard of a mad wizard roaring with maniacal laughter.

Vivid emotions, particularly when it's one you understand but struggle to define

My arm slammed repeatedly into the wall trying in vain to cast off the phantasmal grappler that came from within.

#writing #TCotWS #AmWriting

caillech Maeve May 19, 2024

#writerscoffeeclub 24-05-18: Have you written sections where the action occurs against the clock? How did you do it?

Where I directly point out a clock running? Nyet!

Via context clues? Da!

#TCotWS The first encounter with the creature is during early evening , later-later Parthia/Ta'regi finds it's empty nesting spot around early afternoon and a scent trail. She is setupon by a mental breakdown as eveing approaches and the scent is growing fresher the closer she gets to town.

My sympathy and support for my fellow trauma survivors that have had to deal with breaks downs at damn inconvenient times.

caillech Maeve May 17, 2024

--- A Wolf's Lullaby, excerpt ---

“Pin? Do you enjoy being on the sea? Or is that you enjoy being with me, and simply tolerate being on a ship at sea?”

My heart stopped dead solid for several seconds as my mind raced to flush out an answer from the thorny scrub-brush of anxiety that choked the thicket of my thoughts.

--- ---

#AWolfsLullaby
#TCotWS

caillech Maeve May 7, 2024

#wordweavers 23-05-07 What behaviors does your characters' society encourage?

#TCotWS #AWolfsLullaby
Parthia's village can be summarized with "Help first, ask questions later."

caillech Maeve May 1, 2024

#WritersCoffeeClub 24-05-01: OMG! What happened to your MC's parents?

Parthia:
- A Wolf's Lullaby:
--- Mum is alive and well.
--- Dad is somewhere playing music for a temple. Mum & Dad amicably went their separate when Parthia was about 3
- The Cantata Of The Wild Soul
--- Mum had passed in her sleep about age 70-75, few years prior to the story
--- Dad is presumably dead, as he was older than her mum

Pintac:
- A Wolf's Lullaby
--- parents are alive and well
- The Cantata Of The Wild Soul
--- parents died in a wild fire 2yes prior to the story start

#TCotWS #AWolfsLullaby

caillech Maeve Apr 23, 2024

#wordWeavers 4/23: How much of an age range do you have with your MCs?

#TCotWS : mid 30's
#AWolfsLullaby : early 20's
Wytch-Fork: The Witch & The Wolf: late 20's, and 500+yrs
Wytch-Fork: Lament & Lauderant: early 30's, and early to mid 40's
HARRIDAN: Project 531L ; mid 30's , and technically a few months old (age is an odd thing when dealing with NHPs [non human person] )

caillech Maeve Apr 21, 2024

#WordWeavers 24-04-21 If your MC's main skill evaporated, would they survive the story?

Well... In #TCotWS that is a part of what happens.

Parthia/Ta'regi goes from being a sharp shooter with a bow, to unable to use her bow/regular bows because of the physical changes from the ritual. She has a sharp mind, and even internally notes the trade of power/skill.

She instinctually adapts to the changes, but internally the loss of being able to use a bow adds a subtle extra layer of lament to the loss+grief she's already going through. She was skilled with bows, and very aware of /how/ skilled. She's not a prideful/boastful person. The real loss from not being able to use bows, was the connection with her mother who taught her how to use & hunt with a bow. Something I'll probably address/make apparent when I do my Read 'N Tweak pass in a week or two

------ excerpt ----
We yanked at the other chain and looked at our hands. They were larger, stronger. We rolled and flexed our fingers, extended and retracted our claws. They were powerful hands, dangerous hands, but they were a trade. We wouldn't be using our bow anymore.. and the shape of them would make axes and swords too clumsy.

caillech Maeve Apr 18, 2024

#pennedpossibilities 288 — How social is your MC or SC? Do they thrive around others or do they prefer being alone?

Parthia: She's fine with solitude when she chooses it. But to her core she's a social creature. She's an /otherness/ within her village but still highly a part of it. Her self exile in #TCotWS broke her a bit. It also rippled through the community, as she was sort of a heart of the village, amplifying the closeness there. In her absence the general mood took a down turn.
In #AWolfsLullaby we'll get to see more of the gregariousness and social butterfly side of her.

Pintac: He's usually luke warm, holding no strong need in either direction. Save for when it comes to Parthia. There's something about her that makes him feel like he's right where he should be. He becomes an equally bubbly-gregarious as she is when in her vicinity.

caillech Maeve Apr 13, 2024

So how did I end up at an Autumn celebration, getting my ass handed to me in a match of Ku’rab?

It started with me getting into a fight with a monkey. Well rather Gavin who I was dating at that time, got into a fight with the helmsman's fucking pet monkey.
Gods above and below, that fucking monkey. I should have chucked the malicious fucker overboard during that storm.
I'm getting side tracked.
After we had that gladiatorial fight with the helmsman's fucking pet monkey, Gavin and I decided to take our earnings and do something else for Winter, you know to take a breather. Neither of us had enjoyed working the cargo routes during the storms of last Winter. So we figured we'd come back in Spring, and find a different ship to sign onto… one without a fucking monkey.

#AWolfsLullaby #TCotWS #ParthiaAndPintac